Inside the messy accommodation alleged Australian killer lives
Updated ,first published
Photos have emerged showing the squalid and neglected state of Simon Peter Carman’s Thai flat, where the Australian is accused of murdering a young girl.
In the images, empty alcohol bottles, WD-40 and bottled water are seen on a small table and refrigerator; There are piles of clothes on other furniture.
An unnamed friend of Thanchanok Donhomla (17) is also seen in the photos obtained by ABC.
They are understood to have been captured after the teenager went missing but before his body was found inside a suitcase on a remote roadside in Pattaya, about 150 kilometers south of Bangkok.
The brutal manner in which 45-year-old Carman allegedly killed Thanchanok shook both countries.
At the scene of the grim discovery, flowers and food containers left by mourners cover the flattened grass by the roadside where the suitcase was dumped.
The case also revealed a disturbing truth about foreign men moving to or holidaying in Thailand for a cheaper lifestyle.
Police said Carman, who was born in Ballarat and lives in Western Australia, claimed self-defence.
He is accused of picking up Thanchanok for sex around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning and taking her back to his unit at a multi-tower complex in Jomtien, a satellite district of Pattaya.
Those who knew him said he had been living in the tower for at least eight months.
Locals said Carman frequented a billiards bar in the Rimhad Jomtien apartment building where the murder allegedly took place.
AAP They said Carman often came to play billiards at the bar but they never saw him drink alcohol.
A woman who works in a restaurant and asked not to be named out of concern that her job would be affected, said that she cooked for him almost every day and noticed a large scar on the back of her head.
He said Carman told him he had surgery for a brain tumor and that was the reason for his slow speech and walk.
The resort is just minutes from Pattaya’s Jomtien beach in southern Thailand, a popular tourist area known for its water sports and nightlife.
This is the area where Carman allegedly met Thanchanok late in the evening before leaving together.
Carman is accused of killing Thanchanok before attempting to leave Thailand for Perth via the country’s main airport in Bangkok, where police arrested him.
Police said they were alerted to Thanchanok’s disappearance by a friend who said she had been seen with a strange man.
According to police, a subsequent search of an apartment block where the couple was believed to have been taken to Carman turned up CCTV footage of the couple arriving together and Carman allegedly leaving the property alone with a large suitcase.
Early Saturday morning, police retrieved the bag from a remote road near the Four Districts Water Market and found Thanchanok’s naked body inside.
Images of the area where Thanchanok’s body was found a few meters from the railway line show gifts left by mourners, as well as discarded medical gloves and other forensic equipment.
In footage recorded by police, Carman expressed his sympathy to the girl’s family but also appeared to suggest the teenager had somehow caused or contributed to her death.
“I’m sorry about what happened to your daughter, it was out of my control,” he said.
“This shouldn’t be happening. Please tell the other girls to be careful.”
In the video footage of the Australian, scratch marks can be seen on his neck and arms.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Thailand.
Jack Gramenz is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
